The Arizona State Lands Department canceled a June 27 land auction that the owner of the Arizona Coyotes was counting on to revive his dormant NHL franchise.
In April, the NHL’s board of governors approved the establishment of a franchise in Utah, with Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo transferring his team’s hockey assets (from the roster and Draft picks to the operations department hockey) to Smith Entertainment Group, while maintaining ownership of the team. intellectual property.
As part of the sale, the NHL approved a plan that left the Arizona Coyotes franchise dormant, with the right to reactivate it if Meruelo has completely constructed “a new state-of-the-art facility appropriate for an NHL team within five years.” “
The Coyotes had chosen a 95-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix as a possible new home for an arena. Earlier this year, the ASLD appeals board unanimously approved a $68.5 million appraisal of the land and set an auction date.
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The Coyotes released images of what they intended to build on that land if they won the bid, including an arena, a practice facility, a theater and housing units. The Coyotes planned to begin construction in the second quarter of 2025 with an eye toward being ready for an NHL team in 2027.
Multiple sources told KeynoteUSA that the auction issue is related to the type of hockey stadium Meruelo could build on the land.
The Coyotes said the land was already zoned for an indoor hockey arena, which was a relic of a previous attempt to build a youth hockey facility in the area. But this apparently doesn’t cover the construction of a 17,000-seat NHL arena, whose capacity could increase to 18,500 for other events.
“ASLD recently confirmed that the proposed stadium will require a special use permit,” the lands department wrote in its letter announcing the cancellation. “As a result, we are requesting that the applicant apply for and receive a Special Use Permit prior to the auction. This provides the applicant and ASLD with certainty that the applicant can build what he intends to build for his anchor tenant.”
The ASLD added, “It is not uncommon for the ASLD to require the applicant to obtain zoning/use permits prior to the auction.”
The Coyotes issued a statement Friday criticizing the cancellation and stated that they are “exploring all of our legal options given this short-sighted decision” by the ASLD.
“After more than a year of planning and meeting all obligations required by Arizona law, the Arizona Department of State Lands unilaterally canceled the auction that was scheduled for June 27 for the site that has been identified as the future home of the Arizona Coyotes. said the Coyotes. “This unprecedented action by Arizona State seriously jeopardizes the future of NHL hockey returning to the desert.”
The Coyotes say they expected to win the auction.
“The organization has worked in good faith with the ASLD and was on track to win the auction next week until the sudden setback occurred,” the team said. “By canceling the land auction, the state is giving up millions, and potentially billions, of dollars that would have gone directly to K-12 education.”
Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega told the Arizona Republic on Friday that he had noted the land had “questionable zoning rights” before the auction.
“Mr. Meruelo’s fantasy hockey proposal was just a smokescreen when he came out after managing the franchise,” Ortega told the newspaper.
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